Karl Schlademan, the coach who guided Michigan State to five NCAA cross country titles in the 1940s and `50s, will be inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Joining Schlademan in the Hall of Fame Class of 2007 are Lew Hartzog, Cyrus Jones, Tom Jones, Beverly Kearney, John Mitchell, Irv Mondschein and Jim Sackett. This year's Hall of Fame ceremony will be held Dec. 18 at the USTFCCCA annual convention in Phoenix, Ariz.

Schlademan coached men's track and field at cross country for nearly 40 years at Kansas (1919-26), Washington State (1927-40) and Michigan State (1940-58).

A native of Seafield, Ind., Schlademan graduated from DePauw University. On arriving at Washington State in 1927, Schlademan steadily built the Cougars into a national contender on the track. Washington State had four top-10 finishes at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, including a pair of fourth-place ties (1937 and 1939). The Cougars won seven consecutive Northern Division titles and had a 39-14 dual meet record under Schlademan.

Washington State sprinter Lee Orr won a national collegiate title in the 440-yard dash in 1940, Schlademan's final season in Pullman.

Schlademan's cross country teams at Michigan State won six Big Ten championships and five NCAA titles (1948-49-52-55-56). The Spartans also finished second in 1950 and 1957.

After retiring from coaching, Schlademan sold adidas shoes in Lansing, Mich. He died in 1980 at age 90.

Schlademan is a member of the Drake Relays Hall of Fame and Michigan State Hall of Fame. He also was instrumental in the founding of the Kansas Relays.

Eight coaching greats comprise USTFCCCA Hall of Fame Class of 2007

Eight coaches representing all three levels of NCAA competition and covering a time span of nearly a century will be inducted into the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced this week.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held Dec. 18 at the USTFCCCA annual convention in Phoenix, Ariz.

"This year's Hall of Fame class is a remarkable group," said Sam Seemes, CEO of the USTFCCCA. "It will be an honor for our organization to pay tribute to eight coaches who are among the giants of their profession."

The first NCAA championship won by the Class of 2007 came in 1948, when Schlademan guided Michigan State to the Division I men's cross country championship. The most recent championship came in March, when Cyrus Jones led Lincoln's men to the NCAA Division III indoor title.

During a lengthy head-coaching career at Northeast Louisiana (now Louisiana Monroe) and Southern Illinois, Hartzog won all but one of the men's conference championships available to him. He never lost a conference meet during his 25 years at Southern Illinois, guiding the Salukis to 10 Missouri Valley Conference men's outdoor titles and eight MVC indoor championships.

Cyrus Jones built a Division III powerhouse at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. His men's and women's teams have won 17 NCAA championships, including seven outdoor titles. The Lions won their sixth NCAA indoor title in March.

Tom Jones was the head coach at four Division I schools - North Carolina State, UTEP, Arizona State and Florida. An NCAA champion in the 220-yard dash while attending UCLA, Jones led North Carolina State to successive AIAW cross country titles and was named the Southeastern Conference's coach of the year seven times while at Florida.

Kearney, the current women's track and field coach at Texas, has coached seven NCAA championship teams. Her first title came while at Florida when she led the Gators to the 1992 NCAA indoor championship. She has won six NCAA team championships while at Texas and is a member of the Women's Sports Hall of Fame.

Mitchell guided Alabama and Georgia to success in the Southeastern Conference. In 1980, he led Alabama's men to their first SEC outdoor championship in 28 years, and he was the conference's indoor and outdoor coach of the year in 1995. Mitchell coached a number of Olympic medalists, including Calvin Smith, the world record holder in the 100 meters.

Mondschein was a standout two-sport athlete at New York University who competed in the decathlon at the 1948 Olympics. In addition to serving as an assistant and head coach at Penn for 23 years, he coached the Israeli national team at the 1952 Olympics and assisted on the U.S. team in 1988. He continued coaching into his 80s, assisting his son, Brian, at Kutztown.

Sackett was a head coach for 38 years at Western Illinois and Cal Poly Pomona before retiring this spring. He guided Cal Poly Pomona to the NCAA Division II men's cross country championship in 1983 and coached 12 national individual champions in track and cross country.

Schlademan coached men's track and field at cross country for nearly 40 years at Kansas, Washington State and Michigan State. His greatest success came at Michigan State, where he led the Spartans to six Big Ten Conference and five NCAA championships.

All USTFCCCA members are eligible to nominate coaching peers for the Hall of Fame. A committee comprised of USTFCCCA members votes on which nominees will be enshrined each year.

For more information on the inductees in this year's USTFCCCA Hall of Fame class, see www.ustfccca.org.